The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to the identification of input/output switching module interfaces in a chassis housing multiple information handling systems.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In some situations, multiple IHSs such as, for example, blade server IHSs, may be housed in an IHS enclosure such as a blade enclosure. Such IHS enclosures include mid-planes or backplanes that are used to couple the IHSs to Input/Output (I/O) switching modules that allow data transmission to and from the IHSs. Specifically, the IHSs may be coupled to internal interfaces on different I/O switching modules, and the I/O switching modules transmit data from their internal interfaces to external interfaces on the I/O switching module. For example, some I/O switching modules may include 32 internal 10G interfaces, each of which may be connected to a respective IHS, along with 2 external 40G interfaces. The identification of these internal interfaces can raise a number of issues.
Traditionally, I/O switching modules identify their internal interfaces generically such that an I/O switching module with 32 internal 10G interfaces, each connected to a respective IHS, might identify those internal interfaces as TenGigabitEthernet 0/1, TenGigabitEthernet 0/2, . . . and up to TenGigabitEthernet 0/32 if each interface is connected to an IHS. In a standalone switch, such generic identification of interfaces does not raise an issue, as the interfaces to server mapping in such a scenario is relatively straight forward. However, in multi-server IHS enclosures, several I/O switching modules may be employed. In such scenarios, the generic identification of internal interfaces makes the determination of which IHSs each I/O switching module interface is connected to complicated, and requires a detailed chart that maps each IHS to its connected interface. Thus, when a user wishes to configure a particular interface for a particular IHS, they must consult the chart, and when configuring multiple interfaces per IHS, such operations can become confusing very quickly.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for the improved identification of input/output switching module interfaces in a chassis housing multiple information handling systems.